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spider gone

let me tell you about Susie
the little spider who has
since the days of confinement
all those months ago
made her home in a secluded corner
of my smallest room

when I returned
after spending August in Scotland
(here there is an excess of heat and tourists
and I am too cantankerous to suffer either willingly)
I was delighted to find her
still apparently thriving
but not significantly larger

so I was amazed and dismayed
one day to find
she had multiplied her size tenfold
or more probably been replaced

this newcomer was a more aggressive character
roaming the walls
with perceived immunity
and as I worried about Susie
(had he eaten her
as a friend suggested?)
I discovered I did not like him

so contrary to my normal philosophy
in a fit of vengeance
and with the aid of a drinking glass
and a postcard
portraying the red sandstone tenements
of Glasgow’s High Street
I captured him
and dropped him from my balcony
into the garden two floors below
where despite everything I hope he prospers

against all expectations
Susie returned the following day
perhaps wondering at the sudden disappearance
of her mother
who can tell

but now she has gone
with no explanation
indeed
without a word or sign
in much the same way
as you did
my love